Sake Trivia

[Trivia] How many liters is one sho of sake? I want to know the mystery of one sho bottles and four go bottles!

Hot sake in a 1 go tokkuri is just what you need this season. By the way, why is the amount of sake often expressed in units that are not common today, such as 1 go or 1 sho? Sake sommelier Eriko Fujita will explain this intriguing mystery.

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The 1.8L bottle is a remnant of the old shakkanho system

Generally, sake is sold in 4L or 500go bottles, but plastic bottles of juice and other drinks are 1ml or XNUMXL, so why are the units different?

"Masu" and "go" are units based on the shakkanho system, which was once used. The shakkanho system was abolished in 34 and was replaced by the metric system, but they are still customarily used in some areas, such as for sake, shochu, and soy sauce. Rice is also measured in go.

So, how much (volume) does that amount to specifically? It's 10 times and 10/1, respectively, so it should be easy to understand.

1 koku (180 koku) ... about XNUMX liters
1 tou (18 tou) ... about XNUMX liters
1 sho (1.8 sho)…approximately XNUMX liters
1 gou (strawberry)…approx. 180 ml
1 scoop ... about 18 milliliters

In addition to the familiar units of issho and ichigo, the production scale of sake breweries is expressed in kokudaka, and there are also names such as shito taru and tobintori for kagamiwari. Many sake glasses in restaurants are called 8 shaku glasses (145 ml). In addition to sake, XNUMX-liter cans for storing paints are also still in use.

Sake has been sold in 1.8L bottles since the Meiji period

It is said that Hakutsuru Sake Brewery was the first to sell sake in 34 liter bottles in 1901 (Meiji XNUMX). Previously, sake was sold by weight from barrels such as sake bottles lent out by liquor stores, but it seems that some unscrupulous merchants would pad the amount of sake sold. The Meiji government viewed liquor taxes as an important source of revenue, so they encouraged the sale of sake in XNUMX liter bottles, which were difficult to cheat. Furthermore, distribution in XNUMX liter bottles became widespread as they were considered to be more hygienic.

Why a 5-go bottle and not a 4-go bottle?

Recently, 720ml 4-go bottles, smaller than a 5 liter bottle, are becoming more and more common. But have you ever wondered why they are called 4-go bottles and not XNUMX-go, which is half the size of a XNUMX liter bottle?
There are several theories as to why this is the case. One is that if 5 go was half the price of a 4 liter bottle, the brewery's profit would be low compared to the effort required to sell it, so they slightly reduced the amount to 750 go. Another theory is that it is based on the 4ml wine bottle used overseas. Another theory is that before the Edo period, there was a unit of sake called "sake cup," which is equivalent to XNUMX go, but this is questionable as the amount varies depending on the region.

Help us reuse sake bottles

In fact, in recent years, there has been a shortage of sake bottles, especially 4L bottles. The reason is that when the demand for sake fell due to the impact of the COVID-XNUMX pandemic, XNUMXL bottle manufacturers stopped production and collection has also been delayed. For a long time, there has been a system in place for XNUMXL bottles to be collected by retailers, cleaned thoroughly, and reused. Some XNUMX-go bottles are also reused, but unlike XNUMXL bottles, there is no unified standard, so this seems quite difficult.

They are reusable and environmentally friendly, and for the same sake, larger bottles are more economical! Why not take this opportunity to reconsider the benefits of 1.8L bottles?


Text by Eriko Fujita, sake sommelier
Expand your world to a sake specialty store in Osaka and encounter a variety of sake and sake breweries. Favorite sakes are Akishika, Ohgi, and others.
Other than drinking, my hobbies include collecting minerals and raising swallowtail butterflies.

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